A plan to force medical lab technicians to secure a state license before going to work is dead -- for now.

Rep. Phylis King, D-Boise, the bill’s sponsor, asked her colleagues on the House Health and Welfare Committee to hold the legislation. King said she has worked with stakeholders on the concept, plans to rewrite pieces of the proposal, and bring back a new draft.

She did not elaborate on what changes are in store for the new iteration.

Her original bill called for medical lab technicians to obtain a state-backed license before going to work. The bill would have strictly limited who could apply for a license by requiring applicants to hold either a four-year college degree in a relevant field, or a two-year degree and additional training.

Under King’s original bill some applicants who have passed nationally recognized certification tests might have also qualified for the Idaho license.

The proposal would have instituted application and license fees that workers would have had to pay to secure their work credentials. The fees would have funded a government board, also created in the King plan, to regulate and monitor that career field.

King told colleagues in a previous hearing her measure would increase public safety because it would help ensure that labs perform tests correctly.

She did not hint as to when she might bring a new bill.